Battersea Gods Home

Super Contemporary, Design Museum, 2021

The idea Decades of decay may have rendered Battersea Power Station increasingly picturesque, but have also made it less attractive for developers. With the economy on its knees, it makes more sense to turn the entire site into a park. The power station could be the focus of a landscape garden in a spectacular riverside location. It could include a series of follies that reference some of the greatest sacred sites around the world.

The design In line with the many streams of culture and belief that make up modern London, this twin to the existing park would pit nature against a multi-denominational narrative thread. Follies suggesting particular sacred structures, gods or goddesses, might fuse with the power station or stand alone amongst the trees. Their setting would make the most of this evocative industrial landscape. From Ayers Rock to the Blue Mosque, people will be able to wander amongst touchstones from around the globe. Such a harmonising palimpsest would encourage visitors to explore their own ideas. The power station would become a symbol of faith itself.

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